


Thoughts in a Hundred Words

by Ferith12



Category: DCU
Genre: BAMF Alfred, Bruce Cares About Coolness, Cass is Queen, Crack, Damian Wayne Feels, Dick has No Respect for Said Coolness, Drabble, Gen, poem
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2018-06-04 07:46:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6648592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferith12/pseuds/Ferith12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Poems and drabbles of the DCU (mostly Dick centered) all of which are around a hundred words long (No more than 110, no less than 90).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. There's a Boy Who Flies at Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick Grayson, from Robin to Nightwing to Batman.  
> I really don't like the last stanza. Oh well.

There's a little boy who flies at night  
His laughter's sharp and his feet are light  
And though he's in darkness, his eyes are bright  
There's a little boy who flies at night.

There's a fledgling boy who flies at night  
His steps are sure and his smiles are white  
And when he's scared he won't give in to fright  
There's a fledgling boy who flies at night

There's a grown-up boy who flies at night  
His arms bring comfort and he's willing to fight  
And if those he loves need him he will pause in his flight  
There's a grown-up boy who flies at night


	2. Good Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love Dick and Damian.

He's good enough... isn't he?  
If he fights hard enough, if he's strong enough. He is. He has to be.  
He's good enough.

He deserves it... right?  
He is Damian Al Ghul Wayne. The son of the Bat. That means he deserves it. Deserves his father's legacy, deserves to be respected (accepted,  _loved_ )  
He deserves it.

Except that he doesn't.  
It's written all over Father's face.  "I don't trust you."  
He isn't good enough.

He is... undecided.  
Should he go in or not?   Grayson's face pops out of his window, smiling, warm, a little sad. "Come on in, Dami."  
He doesn't deserve this.  

He doesn't need to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I just changed this whole thing from past to present tense just so that I could write "He's" instead of "He was" and thus keep this under a hundred and ten words long.


	3. Batman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman. I'm thinking this is pre-tiny circus acrobat.

Fight, fight,  
Throughout the night  
And don’t you dare  
Hide in fright

Fear, fear  
Be master of fear  
Darkest legend  
To those far and near

Never, never  
Ever forget  
That you’re alone  
With foes beset

Pain, pain  
Pain is a dart  
Learn to wield it  
Now shield your heart  
  
Stoic, stoic  
Eyes of stone  
Putting fear  
In hearts of men grown

Smile, smile  
Hide who you are  
Daylight’s fake  
Dusk is still far

  
Swoop, Swoop  
Swoop through the night  
Instilling fear  
In the absence of light

Don’t, don’t  
Dare to back down  
You’ve got a really cool cape  
And legendary frown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that was almost exactly a hundred words!


	4. Too Big, Too Lonely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick Grayson, new to the Manor.

He had never been in a normal house before.  
He was pretty sure this wasn't a normal house.

Everything was big, far too big, and far too lonely.

Bruce was... nice he supposed.  He was big and scary and unsure, with a look in his eyes that tried to be sympathy.  
Bruce said he understood; his parents had died, too.  
That kind of made Dick want to hit him.   Death wasn't what defined people, love was, and love was different for everyone.  

But even if Bruce was stupid, he was trying.

The house was far too big and far too lonely.

Dick would change that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally 170 words long. So hard to get it shorter.


	5. Bond

"But  _dude!_ " Wally said, "You say Batman could beat anyone! You said he could beat the Hulk."

  
"Cause he could,"  Robin said, rolling his eyes.  "But I think I know who James Bond really is, and if I'm right he definitely beats Batman."

"He's real?" Wally asked, "Ohhh," he said, as realization slowly dawned. "Yeah, he could've beaten Batman."

The rest of the team stared at them in confusion.  James Bond was cool, sure, but he wasn't  _Batman_ level.  

"Batman: 01" 

"Hey, Batman," Robin said, "Who would win, you or James Bond?" He grinned, daring the man to lie.

Batman hesitated for a moment, then said, "Bond."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cause we all know Alfred used to be 007.


	6. I Am the Terror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick Grayson (as batman) is bored.

Every time Jim Gordon met with Batman, the bat would emerge out of the shadows like he'd been there the whole time, no matter how early he arrived.  
This time he came thirty minutes late, just to see what would happen.  
"I am the terror that flaps in the night!" a voice proclaimed in a perfect Darkwing Duck impression.  
"I am the-- Commissioner." Batman whirled around, batman voice, batman frown, batman _presence_ all fully restored. The look on Robin's face was once of purist mortification.  
This was so much better than he could have hoped.


	7. Cape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce sacrifices his pride for fashion.

Four days, twelve hours, and eleven minutes ago, Bruce presented his ward with a hero costume that practically bled awesome coolness.

Since then, Dick has somehow convinced him to change the color scheme, argued (bullied) him into adding pixie boots, and managed to prove that pants are illogical.

“You can’t pretend it’s not completely impractical.”

Of course Bruce can’t.But there’s something undeniable heroic about a cape, something symbolic. Batman is the _caped_ crusader.Bruce will NOT give up the cape.

But he knows his argument won’t fly.When it comes to suit design, Dick turns out to be improbably utilitarian.

Bruce is desperate.“Superman has a cape.”

 


	8. Grayson

He called him Grayson to remind him where he came from.Because Grayson was no Batman.Grayson was just a circus brat with a pathetic bleeding heart.

Damian called him Grayson.And even though he knew it was meant as an insult, Dick smiled when he heard it, because it was a reminder.A reminder through it all that he was a flying Grayson and always would be.

He called him Grayson.Even after Brown was Stephanie as often as she was Fat Girl, and even Drake was Timothy when he was feeling generous.He called him Grayson to remind him where he came from.Because Damian understood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a hundred words really doesn't do this concept justice. I've just been sitting on this idea forever and decided I needed to write SOMETHING. I hope it made sense.


	9. A Tim Poem

Some things are worth watching

You watch as he flies

Free, strong, fearless

And he hugged you like he cared

 

Sometimes you try hoping

And when you do

You won’t stop

No matter what happens

 

Some things are unchanging

Batman needs Robin

When Dick leaves, Jason

And now Jason’s dead it’s obvious

 

Somehow, here you’re standing

Right place, right time

Only one there to do it

Unplanned, but you’ll do your best

 

Sometimes despite planning

Things go better

Than you dreamed

You’re Robin, Batman’s partner.

 

Some things, sometimes, some hopes and dreams

Some people are worth watching, wishing.

You never know how far you’ll get

By looking up and wondering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I did a poem. This is a weird style for me. Hope you like. :)


	10. Here's the difference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know what, this is 157 words long, but I don't care.

Here's the difference between falling and flying:  
You fly because you want to.  
You fall because someone makes you.

Here's what happens when you fall:  
You hit the ground.    
(wires snap and there's blood, blood so much blood, red and bright and thick-wet and you think you can smell it even though that's stupid and there's nothing you can do to save them and you can't reach them and you can't)  
Falling is what happens when you can't.

Here's what happens when you fly:  
You get back up again.  
(your cape snaps in the wind and it's so impractical, but it's bright, bright yellow and you're wearing a suit that red and green and these are your family colors, you're wearing your family colors and all the world is watching and you're a hero now, like superman, so you can be just a little bit impractical, you can be anything.)  
Flying is what happens when you can.


	11. Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red Hood meets Black Bat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this on tumblr for CaraLee.

Later, when Red Hood recounted his first encounter with Black Bat, he would describe it as a fight. This is hat really happened.

  
There was a shadow.  The shadow was not there.  The shadow was there.  The shadow was too quick to shoot, too quick to punch, too quick to do anything with other than think a stream of  _what-why-how-who the hell IS this?_   The shadow was very good at hitting.

  
The shadow said: “They didn’t really kill the girls.  They were… set up.”

  
The shadow was gone.

  
The Red Hood was left on the ground, very bruised, very weaponless, and trying very hard to remember what dignity was.


	12. Dreams

When Dick was little he dreamed of flying, and sometimes of ice cream.    Real life had less ice cream, but real flying was a thousand times better than dream flying.

When Jason was little he dreamed of books, of being a hero about to change the world.  Real life was dirty and frightening without being exciting, but he would change that.

When Tim was little he dreamed of smiles and warm hugs.  He felt guilty afterwards; real life was empty and lonely and full of rules.  He held his dreams very close anyway.

When Damian was little he dreamed of blood.  Real life and dreams were exactly the same.


End file.
